Select or clear options under Show to display or hide the formula bar or status bar.
Startup Task Pane Select to show the task pane when you start Microsoft Excel. Clear to hide task pane when you start Excel.
Formula bar Displays the formula bar. The formula bar appears at the top of the worksheet.
Status bar Displays the status bar, which shows information about a selected command or option. The status bar appears at the bottom of the program window.
Windows in Taskbar Select to display multiple workbooks on the Windows taskbar.
Select options under Comments to determine how comments are displayed on the worksheet.
None Hides comments and comment indicators in cells that have comments attached.
Comment indicator only Displays a small red triangle in the upper-right corner of a cell when there is a comment attached to the cell. Comments are displayed only when you rest a pointer over a cell that has a comment.
Comment & indicator Displays the comment and comment indicator, a small red triangle in the upper-right corner of a cell, when there is a comment attached to the cell.
Select options under Objects to display or hide graphic objects in the workbook.
Show all Displays all graphic objects, buttons, text boxes, drawn objects, and pictures.
Show placeholders Displays pictures and charts as gray rectangles. Displaying object placeholders can significantly increase the speed of scrolling through a sheet. Excel does not display buttons, text boxes, or other types of graphic objects as gray rectangles when you select the Show placeholders option.
Hide all Hides all graphic objects, buttons, text boxes, drawn objects, and pictures. Excel does not print hidden objects.
Select display options under Window options for the active window.
Page breaks Displays page breaks that have been set automatically by Excel.
Formulas Displays the formulas in cells instead of the values that the formulas produce.
Gridlines Displays cell gridlines. To print gridlines, make sure the Gridlines check box is checked on the Sheet tab of the Page Setup dialog box.
Row & column headers Displays row numbers on the left side of the sheet and column letters at the top of the sheet.
Outline symbols Displays outline symbols. Excel does not display outline symbols unless the worksheet contains a previously created outline.
Zero values Displays a 0 (zero) in cells that contain zero values.
Horizontal scroll bar Displays the horizontal scroll bar at the bottom of the sheet.
Vertical scroll bar Displays the vertical scroll bar on the right side of the sheet.
Sheet tabs Displays sheet tabs so that you can move among and select workbook sheets. Sheet tabs appear at the bottom of the sheet window.
Gridlines color Sets the color for gridlines. If you click Automatic, the color is based on the text color defined in Windows Control Panel.
Select options under Calculation to specify how you want Microsoft Excel to calculate worksheets. To calculate the active worksheet and any charts and chart sheets linked to it, click Calc Sheet. Selecting other calculation options affects all open worksheets in the current session. The default calculation for Excel is automatic.
Automatic Calculates all dependent formulas every time you make a change to a value, formula, or name. This is the default calculation setting.
Automatic except tables Calculates all dependent formulas except data tables. To calculate data tables, click Calc Now on the Calculation tab.
Manual Calculates open workbooks only when you click Calc Now on the Calculation tab. When you click Manual, Excel automatically selects the Recalculate before save check box. If saving a workbook takes a long time, clearing Recalculate before save may improve the save time.
Recalculate before save Recalculates data before the workbook is saved.
Calc Now (F9) Calculates all open worksheets, including data tables, and updates all open chart sheets.
Calc Sheet Calculates the active worksheet and any charts and chart sheets linked to this worksheet.
Iteration Limits iteration for goal seeking or for resolving circular references. Unless you specify otherwise, Excel stops after 100 iterations or when all values change by less than 0.001. You can limit iteration by changing the number in the Maximum iterations box, the Maximum change box, or both boxes.
Maximum iterations Type the numbers in the Maximum iterations and Maximum change boxes to change the maximum number of iterations used and the maximum amount of change below which iteration stops.
Maximum change Type the numbers in the Maximum iterations and Maximum change boxes to change the maximum number of iterations used and the maximum amount of change below which iteration stops.
Sets calculation options that affect the entire workbook.
Update remote references Calculates and updates formulas that include references to other applications.
Precision as displayed Permanently changes stored values in cells from full precision (15 digits) to whatever format, including decimal places, is displayed.
1904 date system Changes the starting date from which all dates are calculated from January 1, 1900, to January 2, 1904.
Save external link values Saves copies of values contained in an external document linked to a Excel worksheet. If a worksheet with links to large ranges on an external document requires an unusually large amount of disk space or takes a very long time to open, clearing the Save external link values check box can reduce the disk space and time needed to open the worksheet.
Accept labels in formulas Lets you use label names in formulas if ranges on your worksheet have row or column labels.
Sets options for editing your worksheet. Options checked on the Edit tab affect all worksheets in the workbook.
Edit directly in cell Select the Edit directly in cell check box to edit inside a cell by double-clicking the cell, rather than editing the cell contents only in the formula bar.
Allow cell drag and drop Select the Allow cell drag and drop check box to move and copy cells and data by dragging. With this option selected, you can also drag the fill handle to copy data and to fill adjacent cells with a series of data.
Alert before overwriting cells Displays a message if you drop cells over other cells that contain data.
Move selection after Enter Makes an adjacent cell the next active cell after you press ENTER in the current active cell. In the Direction box, indicate which adjacent cell becomes active.
Direction Makes an adjacent cell the next active cell after you press ENTER in the current active cell. In the Direction box, indicate which adjacent cell becomes active.
Fixed decimal Enter the number of decimal places in the Places box to indicate where Microsoft Excel will automatically put the decimal point in the numbers you enter as constants on a worksheet. A positive number moves the decimal point to the left; a negative number moves the decimal point to the right. If the Places box is left blank or set at 0 (zero), you need to enter the decimal point manually. To override this option, type a decimal point as you enter the number.
Cut, copy, and sort objects with cells Keeps graphic objects, buttons, text boxes, drawn objects, and pictures with their associated cells whenever you cut, copy, filter, or sort on a worksheet.
Ask to update automatic links Displays a message that lets you confirm before linked items are updated.
Provide feedback with Animation Displays worksheet movement and changes when you insert or delete cells, rows, or columns. Animation may slow video performance on some systems.
Enable AutoComplete for cell values Completes text entries you start to type in a column of data. If the first few letters you type match an existing entry in that column, Excel fills in the remaining text for you.
Extend list formats and formulas Select to automatically format new items added to the end of a list to match the format of the rest of the list. Formulas that are repeated in every row are also copied. To be extended, formats and formulas must appear in at least three of the five last rows preceding the new row.
Enable automatic percent entry Select to multiply by 100 all numbers less than 1 that you enter in cells formatted in the Percentage format. Clear this check box to multiply by 100 all numbers that you enter in cells formatted in the Percentage format, including numbers equal to or greater than 1.
Show Paste Options buttons Select to have Excel automatically provide a dialog with special options when pasting, such as Formatting Only and Link Cells.
Show Insert Options buttons Select to haveExcel automatically provide a dialog with special options when inserting cells, rows or columns, such as Formatting Same As Above and Clear Formatting.
Specify display, viewing, and opening settings for your workbook.
R1C1 reference style Changes the reference style of row and column headings and cell references from A1 style to R1C1 style. In A1 style, columns are labeled alphabetically, and rows are labeled numerically. In R1C1 style, both columns and rows are labeled numerically.
Ignore other applications Prevents exchange of data with other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE).
Function tooltips Displays brief descriptions of the names of buttons and boxes on toolbars and in the toolbox. A ToolTip is displayed when the mouse pointer rests on the button or combo box.
Recently used file list Displays a list of recently used files at the bottom of the File menu, so you can open the files quickly. Enter the number of files you want to display in the entries box.
Prompt for workbook properties Reminds you to enter summary information
Provide feedback with sound Plays available sounds that are associated with Microsoft Office program events, such as opening, saving, and printing files, and displaying error messages. Sounds assigned to different events can be changed in the Sounds Properties dialog box in Windows Control Panel. If you select or clear the Provide feedback with sound check box in one Office program, it is also turned on or off for all other Office 2000 programs. To change the sound that is associated with an event, open the Sounds folder in Windows Control Panel. Your computer must have a sound card to play most sounds.
Zoom on roll with IntelliMouse If you have the Microsoft IntelliMouse pointing device, sets the wheel button to zoom instead of scroll on your worksheet or chart sheet.
Web Options Sets options for how your Microsoft Excel data will look and respond when the data is viewed in a Web browser.
Service Options Sets options for Customer Feedback Options, Online Content, and Shared Workspace.
Sheets in new workbook Sets the number of worksheets you want when you create a new workbook.
Standard font Click the font in the Standard font box to set the standard (default) font for new sheets and workbooks. The new standard font is used the next time you start Excel and create a new worksheet or workbook.
Default file location Type the path in the Default file location box to set the default working folder. If you want to type a path to a network server location for the default file location, enter the path by using the UNC syntax: \\servername\foldername. You must restart Excel to change the default working folder location to a network server.
At startup, open all files in At startup, Excel will automatically open files from the folder you specify here. Type the full path to the folder in the text box to indicate the location of the files.
User name Type a new name in the User name box to change your user name.
Save Excel files as Sets the default file type when you save workbooks. If your workbooks are used in different versions of Microsoft Excel, as Web pages, or in other programs, you can select the file type you most frequently use.
Specify display, viewing, and opening settings for your workbook.
Microsoft Excel menu or Help key Type the key you want to press to activate the Excel menu bar.
Transition navigation keys Activates an alternate set of keys for worksheet navigation, formula entry, label entry, and other actions.
Select or clear options under Sheet Options to specify how you want to evaluate expressions and convert formulas when you open a workbook: with Lotus 1-2-3 rules or Microsoft Excel rules.
Transition formula evaluation Opens and evaluates Lotus 1-2-3 files without losing or changing information. With this option selected, Excel evaluates text strings as 0 (zero), Boolean expressions as 0 or 1, and database criteria according to the rules used in Lotus 1-2-3.
Transition formula entry Converts formulas entered in Lotus 1-2-3 release 2.2 syntax to Excel syntax, and makes names defined in Excel behave like names defined in Lotus 1-2-3.
Custom lists Click a list that you want to edit, or click New List in the Custom lists box to create a new list, and then type the entries in the List entries box. The first character cannot be a number. Press ENTER to separate each entry.
List entries Click a list that you want to edit, or click New List in the Custom lists box to create a new list, and then type the entries in the List entries box. The first character cannot be a number. Press ENTER to separate each entry.
Add Saves a custom list in the List entries box.
Delete Deletes a selected custom list. You cannot delete the built-in custom lists.
Import list from cells To import list entries from a worksheet range, click in the Import list from cells box, select the range on the sheet, and then click Import. The worksheet range must have each entry in a separate cell. The first character of an entry cannot be a number.
Import Creates a custom list from existing items that you've listed in a worksheet range. Click in the Import list from cells box, select the range on the sheet, and then click Import.
Select chart display options under Active chart for the active chart in your workbook.
Not plotted (leave gaps) Leaves gaps in the line for empty worksheet cells in a data series, making the line segmented.
Zero Treats blank cells as zeros, so that the line drops to zero for zero-value data points.
Interpolated Interpolates data points that represent blank cells, and fills in the gaps with connecting lines.
Plot visible cells only Automatically updates the chart to reflect only values in cells that are visible on the worksheet. Clear this check box if you also want hidden cells to be plotted.
Chart sizes with window frame Sizes chart sheets with the window so that the chart always fills the window. To size the chart sheet independently of the window, clear this check box. Chart sizes with window frame is available only for chart sheets, not for embedded charts.
Select or clear the boxes below to display or hide chart item names or data series names and values when you rest the pointer over chart items.
Show names Displays the name of a chart item when you rest the pointer over it.
Show values Displays the value of a data marker when you rest the pointer over it.
Standard colors Displays the current colors.
Chart fills The first eight colors Microsoft Excel uses for chart fills. These colors also can be used to format anything you can apply color to.
Chart lines The first eight colorsExcel uses for chart lines. These colors also can be used to format anything you can apply color to.
Modify Displays the Colors dialog box. You can edit any of the original 56 colors on the color palette to create custom colors.
Reset Resets the color palette to its original 56 colors.
Copy colors from Copies a color palette to the active workbook from another currently open workbook. Click the name of the other workbook in the Copy colors from box.
Decimal separator To change the default decimal separator, clear Use system separators then type over the default separator.
Thousands separator To change the default thousands separator, clear Use system separators then type over the default separator.
Use system separators Select to use the default Decimal and Thousands separators. Clear to enter alternate separators.
Allow A4/Letter paper resizing For some countries or regions, the standard paper size is Letter; for others, the standard size is A4. Select this check box if you want Microsoft Excel to automatically adjust documents formatted for another country's standard paper size (for example, A4) so they print correctly on your country's standard paper size (for example, Letter). This option affects the print-out only, not the formatting in your document.
Right-to-left Sets the default direction of worksheets to a right-to-left direction, with cell A1 in the upper-right corner of the worksheet window.
Left-to-right Sets the default direction of worksheets to a left-to-right direction, with cell A1 in the upper-left corner of the worksheet window.
Logical Determines how the insertion point moves through bi-directional text.
Visual Sets insertion point movement to progress within bi-directional text by moving to the next visually adjacent character.
View current sheet right-to-left Sets this worksheet only to display with a right-to-left direction familiar to users of languages that flow from the right to the left. For example, displays cell A1 in the upper-right corner of the worksheet window and sets cell reading order to right-to-left, with text flowing to the left. Other sheets in this workbook will remain left-to-right.
Show control characters Shows or hides bi-directional control characters.
Save AutoRecover info every Automatically makes a workbook recovery file at the interval you enter in the Minutes box (enter a number from 1 to 120). If your computer hangs (stops responding) or you lose power unexpectedly, Microsoft Excel opens the AutoRecover file the next time you start Excel. The AutoRecover file may contain unsaved information that would otherwise be lost from your original workbook. If your original workbook was damaged, you may be able to recover information from the AutoRecover file. IMPORTANT: AutoRecover does not replace the Save command
AutoRecover save location Displays the default AutoRecover save location. To change to a different location, simply type over the default text.
Disable AutoRecover Disables the AutoRecover feature for the active workbook.
Enable background error checking Select to have Microsoft Excel that checks cells to for errors at idle. If a cell is found to have an error, the cell with be flagged with a green indicator in the upper left corner of the cell.
Error Indicator Color Sets the color Excel uses to indicate errors. If you click Automatic, the color is set to the default color of green.
Reset Ignored Errors Click to flag errors in the spreadsheet and to find them when error checking even though they have already been found and ignored.
Evaluates to error value Select to have Excel treat cells containing formulas that result in an error as an error and display a warning.
Text date with 2 digit years Select to have Excel treat formulas that contain text formatted cells with years represented as 2 digits as an error and display a warning when checking for errors.
Number stored as text Select to have Excel treat numbers formatted as text or preceded by an apostrophe as an error and display a warning.
Inconsistent formula in region Select to have Excel treat a formula in a region of your worksheet that differs from the other formulas in the same region as an error and display a warning.
Formula omits cells in region Select to have Excel treat formulas that omit certain cells in a region as an error and display a warning.
Unlocked cells containing formulas Select to have Excel treat an unlocked cell containing a formula as an error and display a warning when checking for errors.
Formulas referring to empty cells Select to have Excel treat formulas that refer to empty cells as an error and display a warning.
List data validation error Select to have validation errors displayed in lists.
Dictionary language Select the dictionary you want to use when you check the spelling in documents.
Add words to Adds the word that appears beside Not in dictionary to the custom dictionary you select. Microsoft Excel uses the selected custom dictionary in addition to the main dictionary when checking spelling.
Suggest from main dictionary only Suggests correct spellings from the main dictionary but not from any open custom dictionaries. Clear this check box if you want Excel to suggest correct spellings from all open custom dictionaries as well as from the main dictionary.
Ignore words in UPPERCASE Ignores words in UPPERCASE letters during a spelling check.
Ignore words with numbers Ignores words that contain numbers during a spelling check.
Ignore Internet and file addresses Select this check box if you want Microsoft Word to automatically ignore internet addresses, file names, and electronic mail addresses during a spelling check. For example, select this check box to ignore http://www.msn.com during a spelling check.
AutoCorrect Options Sets the options used to correct text automatically as you type, or to store and reuse text and other items you use frequently.
German: Use post-reform rules For German text, allows Excel use post-reform rules when checking grammar.
Korean: Combine aux verb/adj. For Korean text, allows proofing tools to suggest combining auxiliary verbs and adjectives.
Korean: Use auto-change list For Korean text, allows proofing tools to suggest corrections based on the auto-change list.
Korean: Process compound nouns For Korean text, allows proofing tools to suggest processing compound nouns.
Hebrew modes Sets spelling rules for Hebrew words.
Arabic modes Sets spelling rules for Arabic words beginning with an alef hamza or ending with a yaa.
Password to open Type a password in the Password to open box to prevent others from opening a workbook without the password. A password is case sensitive and can contain up to 15 characters, including letters, numbers, and symbols. If you lose the password, you cannot open the workbook.
Advanced Click Advanced to view additional encryption settings options.
Password to modify Type a password in the Password to modify box to prevent another user from opening, making changes in, and saving the workbook without a password. If someone opens the workbook as read-only and changes it, it must be saved with a different name. A password is case sensitive and can contain up to 15 characters, including letters, numbers, and symbols. If you lose the password, you cannot open the workbook.
Read-only recommend Recommends that others open a workbook as read-only. If someone opens the workbook as read-only and changes it, it must be saved with a different name.
Digital Signatures Allows you to view a log of users who have digitally signed this document and add your own signature.
Allows you to specify the privacy options you want. The options you set here determine the information that is given on the Summary tab of the properties dialog for this document when saved.
Remove personal information from this file on save Select to limit the information that is given on the Summary tab of the properties dialog for this document when saved.
Macro Security Select Macro Security to make changes to the level of protection against macros and specify trusted sources.